There are a few news media figure who are taking principled stands regarding the the horrific way that the United States government is treating Bradley Manning, who has not been convicted of any crime. Glen Greenwald is one of the few with scruples. Other principled voices can be read at Alternet, including Lynn Parramore, who (rightfully) suggests that we’d be outraged if we viewed a fictitious movie of someone being treated as badly as Manning, but since it’s happening in real life we don’t give a shit. Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake has admirably covered the story. Andrew Sullivan has weighed in. Barack Obama has fully earned the title of America’s Second Modern Torture President. This is not hyperbole. Bradley Manning is being tortured by the United States. We are enthusiastically treating Manning the way we treated the (mostly innocent) prisoners at Gitmo. We are doing to Manning what we criticize when other countries do it.
Dylan Ratigan of MSNBC has also presented the story with energy. The torture is bad enough, but the silence by mainstream Democrats is infuriating. We’re running a great country, aren’t we? No need to speak out about Wall Street corruption, massive problems with health care “reform,” the right to assassinate U.S. citizens, government spying on its own citizens, and not blatant torture.
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And now they have Bradley Manning in chains.
"You can hear Bradley coming from a long way away because of the chains – his feet have chains on them, they go to a leather belt around his waist. His hands go into them and he has no free movement of his hands."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/16/hear-…
The end sentence of this U.K. Guardian article: "To his supporters, it seems that this small figure chained up in Quantico must represent something very terrifying to the US Army."
The UN special rapporteur on torture has formally accused the US government of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment towards Bradley Manning, the US soldier who was held in solitary confinement for almost a year on suspicion of being the WikiLeaks source.
Juan Mendez has completed a 14-month investigation into the treatment of Manning since the soldier’s arrest at a US military base in May 2010. He concludes that the US military was at least culpable of cruel and inhumane treatment in keeping Manning locked up alone for 23 hours a day over an 11-month period in conditions that he also found might have constituted torture.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/12/bradley-manning-cruel-inhuman-treatment-un
In ’67-’68, I was an FMF corpsman w 3/7-1. I love MOST of those guys and ALL Marines. It’s a volunteer military now, and few of our nation know how war changes a person. The brutality necessary to survive AND accomplish what one thinks is right is overwhelming.
Civilians should NOT pretend to get into a soldier’s or American combatants mind. He/She deserve your respect.
If not, deny the IRS this April anything because YOU are fueling another person’s cause AND their greed. Stop paying your portion for the war. BUT pay the taxes for our infrastructure.
Manuel Serrano, retired teacher, current Service Officer (VFW), combat Navy/ but really a proud Marine.